


Boyfriendzoned

by southsidewrites



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Jealous Sweet Pea, Jealousy, Love, Reader-Insert, Romance, southside serpents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-05-01 06:07:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14514171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/southsidewrites/pseuds/southsidewrites
Summary: When Jughead transfers to Southside High, the two of you quickly become close, and your best friend Sweet Pea starts to get jealous of how much time you spend with him.





	Boyfriendzoned

“Shut up, Pea,” you laughed, shoving him. “It’s not my fault that I didn’t realize he was into me.”

Sweet Pea gave you a skeptical look. “Oh, really?  Y/N, he asked you to tutor him in Physics—you suck at Physics.”

You rolled your eyes. “I do not suck at Physics.  I’m just not awesome at it.  Even a B student tutoring you is better than nothing if you’re failing.”

“Yeah, but he wasn’t failing.  Admit it, Y/N, you’re just oblivious to social cues.”

You rolled your eyes and started eating lunch.  It wasn’t your fault that you never seemed to know when guys were flirting with you.  In your defense, it didn’t happen often at all—spending a lot of time with Sweet Pea and Fangs usually scared off all but the bravest guys.

“Real talk, Y/N, are you planning on staying single forever?” Fangs joked, trying not to laugh.

You groaned, wanting to drop your head onto the table in exasperation. “My god, you guys are brutal.  I’m focused on school right now, okay?”

“You’ve been saying that as long as I’ve known you,” Sweet Pea replied, grinning. “Which was like kindergarten.”

“Why do I even hang out with you guys?  Aren’t friends supposed to be supportive?”

“This is called tough love, Y/N,” Fangs said with a smirk. “My mom swears by it.”

I looked up at him, your smirk mirroring his own. “What?  Does she want your single ass to get a date too?”

Fangs gripped his chest like he’d been stabbed, dramatically throwing his head back. “Right in the heart.”

Shaking your head, you gave Sweet Pea an amused look. “At least I know that I won’t die alone, right, Pea?”

He winked. “Thirty-five, babe.”

“Seriously, you two have a marriage pact?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” you replied, holding up your fist.

Sweet Pea instinctively bumped his fist into yours. “It’s our generation’s version of a will, Fogarty.  Gotta make sure you don’t die old and alone.”

Fangs cocked an eyebrow, shaking his head.  He may have been Sweet Pea’s best guy friend, but even he didn’t quite comprehend the depth of the relationship between the two of you.  Growing up next door to each other, you already knew everything.  You never had to talk about your painful pasts, because you already knew then.  You had been a part of each other’s stories since the moment they’d been written.

The bell ringed, and the three of you groaned in unison.

“Back to work,” you groaned. “I’m so not in the mood for English today.”

“You’re always in the mood for English,” Sweet Pea replied, walking with you to class. “Why not now?”

“We’re reading Thoreau, and I fucking hate Thoreau.”

Sweet Pea gave you a skeptical look. “Can’t say I’ve ever read it.”

“You’re in the same class a different hour, Pea.”

“Oh, yeah…definitely haven’t read it.”

You bit back a laugh, trying not to roll your eyes. “Literally you’d never pass this class without me.”

“And that’s why I love you, Y/N,” he laughed. “See you after school?”

“Always.” You turned to walk into your classroom but were shocked to see a new kid in your seat.  He was thin, with dark hair and a beanie that looked like a crown.  You walked over and placed your hand on the desk. “You’re in my seat.”  

He looked up at you with a shock. “Oh, shit, I–”

“Relax, dude.” You dropped your stuff on the floor and sat down in the desk next to him. “I’m Y/N.”

“Jughead,” he replied.

Your eyebrows rose.  This had to be Jughead Jones, aka F.P. Jr. “Nice to meet you, Jughead.”

His shoulders slumped, and he looked shockingly defeated. “Man, not even a Serpent and you know who I am.”

“Everyone on the Southside does,” you replied apologetically.  You smiled softly and reached out to squeeze his hand briefly. “Don’t worry—I won’t hold it against you.”

He laughed. “Thanks.”

“So, do you happen to have any strong feelings about Thoreau?”

* * *

Over the course of the next week, you spent more and more time with Jughead.  While you initially bonded over your shared hatred of Thoreau’s pretentiousness, you quickly realized that you had a lot more in common than just literary preferences.

“Of course you like Poe,” you teased, doodling pictures of little birds in Jughead’s notebook. “He’s all dark and menacing.  Exactly the kind of drama you live for.  Hell, if Poe was writing today, I’d bet he’d go for the same melodrama as you.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, hate on me for liking the literary equivalent of an aggressively punk teen.” Jughead rolled his eyes. “Better than liking Dickens.  That guy was paid by the word, you know.”

“First, you are an aggressively punk teen.  I mean, look at you, dude.  You practically live for your aesthetic.” You laughed. “Second, every one of those words was totally worth it.  Dickens is a master” You snapped his notebook shut. “Change of topic: I take it we’re going to be partners for the unit project?”

“Depends, can we do it on Poe?” He smirked, his eyes brightening.

“It’s about transcendentalism, Jug.” You gave him a puzzled look. “Since when is Poe a transcendentalist?”

“Well, I’m sure as hell not doing it on Thoreau,” he replied. “That would be too obvious, not to mention, way too painful.”

“Tolstoy?”

He shrugged. “Sure.  Want to work on it tonight?”

“I’m down.” You double-checked the calendar in your phone to make sure you weren’t working. “Your place or mine?”

“How about yours,” he drawled. “Mine’s not exactly homework-friendly.”

“Works for me.”

* * *

“So, Y/N, coming to the Wyrm tonight?” Sweet Pea asked, joining you as you left school for the day.  He had pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and was twirling it absentmindedly as you walked.  You smiled—the habit was always a sure-fire sign that he was in a good mood.

“Sorry, Pea, can’t tonight,” you replied, shrugging apologetically. “I’ve got a project to work on.”

“Oh.” For a moment, he was silent as you walked into the parking lot together.  You didn’t notice as he tucked the cigarette back in his pocket. “Need a ride home?”

“Nah, I’m good.” You smiled at gestured at Jughead.  He was standing by his bike talking to Toni.  When he saw you, he smiled back.

“Jones?” Sweet Pea asked, his voice icy.

“Yeah.” Your eyebrows rose as you looked at him. “What?  We’re in English together, and the unit final is a group project.”

Sweet Pea shoved his hands in his pockets and shook his head. “Nothing.  Will you be at the Quarry tomorrow?”

“Of course I will, Pea.” You grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him in for a hug.  You were one of the few people who could get away with so much physical affection in public. “Love ya, skyscraper.”

“Love ya too, ankle-biter.”

Laughing, you turned to walk towards Jughead. “See you later, Pea.”

* * *

“No way,” you were laughing so hard you almost cried as Jughead told his story.  In addition to being a great writer, the guy could make anything funny. “I swear, the Northside is fucking nuts.”

Jughead shook his head, still laughing softly. “A little.”

After working on the project for an absurd amount of hours, the two of you moved to Pop’s for a midnight snack.  By this point in the night, you were both done eating, but neither of you really wanted to leave.  You were having too much fun just hanging out, getting to know each other, and swapping funny stories.  

Behind Jughead, the bell on the door jingled, and you looked up to see Sweet Pea, Toni, and Fangs walk in.  

“Guys!” You called. “Over here!”

Grinning, Fangs led the way, leaping into the booth next to you.  "Y/N, glad to see you finally have a social life outside of Sweet Pea.“ He shouldered you playfully.

Rolling your eyes, you punched his arm. "Shut the fuck up, Fogarty.”

Toni sat down next to Jughead, and Sweet Pea pulled up a chair at the end of the table.  Unlike his friends, he seemed unusually grumpy for a Friday night.

“So, Y/N, Jug, how’d the project go?” Toni asked, stealing one of the fries left in the basket between us.

“Awesome.” You grinned. “We’re definitely going to get an A.”

“You know it.” Jughead held his fist up, and you bumped it. “That teacher won’t know what hit her.”

Sweet Pea’s jaw tightened.

“How was the Wyrm?” you asked.

“Fine.” Toni shrugged. “Even though Pea seems to have some sort of massive stick up his ass tonight.” She nudged him, laughing.

Sweet Pea forced a smile, but it looked a whole lot more like a grimace. “I think I’m just tired.”

You gave your friend a concerned look.  He had been off after school, too.  If you were alone, you would have asked why, but you knew that he’d hate you for doing it in front of everyone.

Over the next hour or so, everyone trickled out of the diner except you and Sweet Pea.  Staying at Pop’s that late was a bit of a tradition for the two of you.  As soon as you were old enough, you used to ride your bikes to the diner late at night.  You both had home lives that you’d rather escape sometimes.

Within minutes of everyone leaving, you jumped on your chance to talk to him alone. “So, skyscraper,” you asked. “Care to tell me what’s up tonight?”

“Not really.” He leaned back in his seat and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s not a big deal, Y/N.”

You didn’t buy it. “Fine.  Don’t tell me.  Just know that now I totally think it’s about me.”

“Wait, wha—no.” He leaned forward on the table to look at you. “It’s not you.”

“Then what is it, Sweet Pea?” You were starting to get really worried.

“It’s just–” He cut off, looking around the diner like he wanted to make sure no one would overhear your conversation.  His brown eyes were clouded with worry, and he looked like he would rather jump out the window than finish the conversation.

“Just what?” You were about ready to punch him. “Pea, we’ve been friends forever.  What could possibly be going on that you can’t tell me?” Your voice had risen to a somewhat desperate pitch.  

He took a deep breath, clenching his hands into fists on the surface of the table. “I don’t like you hanging out with Jones so much.”

“What?”

“I know, I know—I’m an asshole, and I have no right to dictate who you spend your time with.  I should have said something sooner, should have made a move before it was too late, should have told you this a long time ago, but no, I put myself in the goddamn friendzone for literal years–”

“Wait, what?” You cut him off, not sure you were hearing him clearly.  Was Sweet Pea, your best friend for as long as you could remember, admitting feelings for you? “What are you saying, Pea?”

“I really like you, Y/N.” His shoulders slumped like the wind had just been knocked out of him. “And I’ve really liked you for a long-ass time.  I’ve never said it, though, because I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.  It’s too fucking late now, though.”

Your eyes were wide, and you had no idea what to say.  Instead, you let your body take over.  Throwing caution to the wind, you nearly dove across the table to press your lips into his.  Sweet Pea reacted immediately, cupping your face and pulling you closer to him.  His lips gently parted your own, deepening the kiss.

You could feel the hard table pressing into your hips, and it took all the self-control you had not to just leap over into his lap.  Breathing deeply, you pulled back.

“Y/N, I—what?”

“I don’t even know where to start, Pea.”  Your breath was heavy and your cheeks flushed. “First of all, Jughead has a girlfriend who is certainly not me.  Second, I’ve liked you forever.  I just–” You cut off. “You and Fangs are always giving me so much crap about being single, and I guess I just assumed I was more like one of the guys than a potential girlfriend.”

“Wow, I have fucked up.” He let out a harsh laugh. “I’m such a moron, Y/N.  I always thought I never stood a chance with a girl as awesome as you.” His voice softened. “I thought I’d just be lucky to be your friend, maybe marry you when we’re thirty-five.”

You laughed harder, reaching across the table to take his hand in yours. “Well, I’m definitely not in the market for a husband right now, but I wouldn’t mind having a boyfriend.” You smiled, meeting his warm gaze with your own. “What do you think?’

"I think I would be thrilled to be your boyfriend.”

Smiling, you leaned back over the table and kissed him again, slowly and more deliberately. “Well then, consider yourself boyfriendzoned.”

“Boyfriendzoned?”

“Hey, you’re the one who agreed to date me.” You grinned.

He rolled his eyes. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed this, please check out my other works for more Sweet Pea x Reader fics.


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